Andrew & Sarah

Well im writing this as im sitting in Vancouver airport waiting to board my flight home at 8pm 12th. Im flying home with Air New Zealand, on their new direct flight to Auckland, its a 14.5hr flight but hopefully i will be comfortable.I finally arrive in Auckland at 6am on the 14th (Hmmm somehow a day does missing).

I have really enjoyed my time away but looking forward to getting home and seeing Sarah and catching up with friends and Family. Not so much looking forward to going back to work however, but guess i have to pay for my next trip somehow!

Highlights of my trip:

• Catching up with Matt and Kat in Dublin
• Road Tripping around Ireland
• Catching up with Chris in Whistler
• Snowboarding and Snowmobiling in Whistler!

Well today Chris, Janelle (One of Chris’s Friends) and myself went snowmobiling for 3 hours. This was the first time snowmobiling for each of us. But as we felt like a bit of excitement we choose to do the “Extreme Powderhound” tour. The snowmobiles we got given were the top of the line models complete with hand warmers built into the handle bars worth approx $20,000 each.

Our tour started off fairly leisurely taking some fairly ordinary tracks up into the hills. This gave us an opportunity to get used to our new toys. We arrived in a large bowl at which time our guide told us to let lose and have a bit of a play around. We did this for a while just mucking around going up banks, plowing through powder drifts etc… During this time Chris managed to roll his snowmobile while trying to turn on a hill, fortunately he didn’t hurt him self.

We then continued on into the steeper terrain and deeper powder. At one point i got my snowmobile stuck in deep powder, so deep when I stepped off I sunk in up to my waist!

The rest of the trip included steep banks (near vertical), more powder, runs through trees and a lot of fun!  Included in our package was  a BBQ lunch however we decided that we would rather spend more time snowmobiling than having a BBQ as we can do that any old time. We did however stop for a quick bite to eat and a drink. Then proceeded to play on a frozen lake where i managed to get up to 85MPH (137KM/hr) however could have gone faster if they weren’t limited to 85MPH. Upon leaving the lake area we each went over a jump and each got a bit of air under our sleds.

Overall it was an awesome experience which I would recommend to anyone! I will put some photos up in my gallery as soon as i get time.

Well i have one more day here in Whistler before heading to Vancouver for a few days then back home to NZ.

Well the last few days have pretty similar. Have been snowboarding most days with some pretty awesome powder the last few days. Been to a few snowboard events. The Showcase showdown on Saturday night, this was slopestyle event which saw snowboarders competing for $50,000 in cash and prizes. On Sunday night we went to the Fire and Ice show which is a weekly show put on by WhistlerBlackcomb. This show is basically a display of skiiers and snowboarders jumping through a ring of fire. Then finishes off with fireworks.

Other than snowboarding I have just been hanging round whistler. Been out for dinner a few times.

• New photos in gallery

Well as you probably know i arrived in Whistler, BC, Canada on the 26th. Chris picked me up from the bus stop where my bus from Vancouver airport dropped me off. I made my self at home in his humble abode, met some of his friends and caught up with the ones i meet where I was here last year.

Wednesday I had a fairly quite day, I just sat round most of the morning. Then in the afternoon went down into the village to do a spot of shopping. As i had not brought my snowboard over to Canada due to the weight restrictions on baggage through the UK, purchasing a snowboard was my main priority.

So now I have an awesome new board it is a 2008 Burton Custom with Burton Cartel bindings. I’m pretty happy with it. After dinner I went to the Coca Cola Tube Park with a few of Chris’s friends (Chris was working) which is just a short walk from Staff housing where Chris lives. Basically the tube park is a steep hill of snow which has channeled lanes which you slide down in a round tube. Going down it last night I got clocked traveling at 59km/hr!

Today I took my new board out for a spin, and am happy to say it lives up to my expectations! In fact it is better than I thought it would be. Will probably head up the mountain with Chris tomorrow as he is not working which is good as he will be able to share some of the locals secret spots!

Few more photos in the gallery…

So the next leg i head off from Ireland to Canada. Unfortunately this involved getting up at 3am to catch my flight from Dublin to London. From London i have a 12hr flight to Vancouver.

When i reach Vancouver I am catching a bus up to Whistler to stay with Chris for a few weeks. While there i hope to get in a spot of snowboarding maybe some snowmobiling and what ever else takes my fancy.